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will deferred; but by his revealed will prefent: and his revealed will doth not always make neceffity of event, but fometimes it is a warning to escape it.

Thus God forefeeth the spawning of finne in mans life, in the feed or root thereof, which is luft, yet he reveileth means to keep the juft from falling into these fins.

But for the wicked, he leaveth them to the ftream and current of their own free-will, and leadeth them into temptation, For temptation is their punishment.

This may stirre us up to husband the means of grace, to the beft advantage of our fouls to keep us undefiled in the way, that iniquity may not have dominion over us.

For Gods certain knowledge of our evils, will bring forth a certain judgment to punish them.

4. Wherein he shall offend, imputing this his imputing this his power to his God.

The Chaldæans were not without their God; Nebuchadnez zar their King had made them a god of the best mettal, and had fet it up in the plain of Darah in the Province of Babel, and called all the People in his Dominions to worship the god which Nebuchadnezzar the King had set up.

This god must have the glory of the Chaldeans Conqueft and what greater dishonour can they do to the living God,then to give his glory to livelelle and fenfeleffe stocks?

1. Yet it appeareth, that those People, although they knew not the true God, yet they had a knowledge of the Divinity; and fo we do hold, that no man is fimpliciter Atheos, that is,without knowledge or acknowledgment of fome divine pow er ruling and governing all things.

For this is the finger of God,in the heart of the natural man, who though he do not perceive qua Dei, the things of God, yet he perceiveth quod Dens, that there is a God.

2. It appeareth that they did confeffe a debt of glory due to the Deity,whatsoever they would think worthy to be efteemed their God, they would think it worthy of all ascriptions of ho nour and glory; which is another truth of the law of God written in the heart of every man, and it is a good principle of nature, it is a lineament of the image of God in man. N

3. Ic

3. It alfo appeareth that they believed the ordinance and moderation of great affairs to depend on the power and ftrength of their god,because they give him the honour of this victory; for his power, the power which he calleth his, he confeffeth to be borrowed, for he imputeth it to hisGod,which alfo is another beam and ray of heavenly light.

But the Lord faith here, they fhall offend herein, for Gods glory is given away from him, and horrible idolatry is committed.

This light of nature doth ferve to convince the Chaldæans that Nebuchadnezzars golden image is not,cannot be god,for that is fixed, it moveth not, what wealth it hath in the matter is the Kings gift, what proportion or forme it hath in the fabrick and forme of it, it hath from the hand of the workman.

But beloved, let me lay open to you the true caufe of all idolatry, not only that of the heathen, but even that of them that call themselves Chriftians: it is want of faith,

For feeing God is an invifible effence, and they are loth to worship what they cannot fee, and they walk by fenfe and not by faith, the invifible Deity is by them worshipped in fome vifible forme, and I cannot judge more hardly against them then that

They have too much weakneffe in their understanding to make it neceffary that their God must be visible: yet not fo much weakneffe of fenfe as to judge that Idol to be God which is of their own making.

But fee how God punisheth them; for feeing they will not worship a God whom they cannot fee, he leaveth them to wor hip that which they can fee to be no god.

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Yet give me leave to commend the Chaldæan for one thing; he doth not affume the glory of this victory to himself, and he findeth the honour of it above humane nature.

c: Therein teaching us to give the glory of all our good fucceffes to him whom we know and believe to be our God, and not to over-ween our. felves herein; for before this chapter fhall paffe as, we shall find that the Chaldæan will learne to be his own God, and thank himself for his victories, as it followeth, 1 ver. 26, I

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Therefore they facrifice to their net; For, Nemo fubitò fit pesfimus.

Yet fome Interpreters applying this to Nebuchadnezzar, do think, that this imputing of the power to his god, was affuming of it to himselfe, and that he was his own god: as we read of Alexander, that after his many victòries, he was fo full of himfelfe as to fuffer himself to be flattered with that high appellation.

And Daniels story showeth the pride of Nebuchadnezzar high grown; and this facrificing to their own net, which followeth doth favour this expofition.

When I put these things together, they shall offend, imputing
this their strength to their God. I find here,

Sr. Idolatry, imputing this to his God...
22. That idolatry is an offence to God.
1. Idolatry.

That the Chaldæan is juftly charged with idolatry, bøte I thus fhew.Dr.Raynold.de Idol.whosoever gives Divine Worship to a Creature, is an Idolater..

Quifquis creatura divinum cultum exhibet idolatra eft,at Chaldens boc facit; but the Chaldean doth fo, Ergo

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Lib.2.1.

The first Propofition is cleared, for whatsoever is honoured Major. with the honour of God, is put into the place of God, against that law non habebis Deos alienos, Thou shalt have no other gods.

That the Chaldean is thus guilty,the text convinceth him; he imputeth the force of his warre and victory to his god. This is Deus alienus, this is an idol.

It is the proper honour to the true God to be custos hominum the Preferver of men: to be Dominus exercituum the Lord of Hoftes. This honour the Chaldæan gave to his God.:

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When Rachel faid to: Jacob, Give me children or elfe I die, Jacob was very angry with her whom he loved dearly, that the fhould defpoil God of his due glory,and feek it from a creature. Gen.3o.z. And he antwered, Am I instead of God &

For Plato an heathen Philosopher did confessé, quamvis in mortali animante fiat, res tamen divina est Pragnatio, & ab immortalibus eft.

In Sym

pof.

So when the King of Syria wrote to the king of Ifrael in the behalf of Naaman the leper, that he might be cured of his leprofie, the King of Ifrael rent his cloaths at that idolatrous demand,and faid, Am I a god to kill and give life? so that the honour of God given a ay from him to any creature is the fetting up of an idol in the place of God.

The Nicene Synod did condemne the Arrians of idolatry,because they denied the Divinity of Chrift, and yet acknowledged divine worship to him.

And becaufe Neftorius did a firm Chrift to be meer man, and not God, both the Ephefian and Nicene Synods condemned them of Anthropolatry.

We do ufually offend too much in our afcriptions to the means of any good to us, wherein we wrong Gods glory if we look not up to him as the fupream Agent working in that means.

Thus in the Church of Rome, Angels by God employed for the fervice of man, by the over-doing thankfulneffe of man were honoured with the honour due to him that fent them.

Those that leave the fervice of God, and ftudy men, and ap ply themselves wholly to their humours, to beter their eftates, do fet up new and ftrange gods against the true God, and give his glory to creatures, and make their means their idols,do.commit idolatry, and break the first great Commandement of the Law.

The Romanifts cannot clear themselves of this trefpaffe, though Bellarmine their Champion do his best to excuse it.

He diftinguifheth between images, which he calleth veras rerum fimilitudines, the true fimilitudes of things: but he cal lech idols falfe Reprefentations of things that are not.

But not to trouble our felves to examine his frivolous diftintion, the image it felfe of a true thing fubfifting, is a creature; and to give that, the honour due only to God, is groffe idolatry; for example, that in their Romane Breviary which is dire Aed to the Croffe, be it not to the image and reprefentation of the Croffe before their eyes, but imit to the Crofle it felfe, is it not idolatry 20 Crux ave fpps unica, hoc paffionis tempore duge -přisjuftitiam,reisque dona veniam, cont

2. This text chargeth them that they offend, whereby irappeareth

peareth that idolatry is an offence; you fee how high it reacheth even to the ungodding of the Almighty, and we fhall fhortly fee how fore it fmarteth upon the offenders.

1. The devil is the Authour of idolatry; for when God had Reaf. 1. buried Mofes fecretly to prevent idolatry, the devil would have difcovered the place to move the People to idolatry; that was the ftrife which Saint Jude mentioneth between Michael the Arch-angel and the devil about the body of Moses, wherein the Arch-angel prevailed against him.

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2. The devil is a great tempter to idolatry; for he affaufted Reaf. 2. Christ fo; fi procidens adoraveris me, if thou wilt fall down and Matth. 44 worship me.

3. The devil is the chief Agent in the Miniftery of the idola- Reaf. 3. trous Priests, as the evil fpirit offered his fervice to be a lying fpirit in the mouths of Baals Prophets, foure hundred of them at

ence.

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Reg. 22. The promise of Satan is that which he profeft to Chrift, to draw men from the worship of God to worship him; and there is no mean: all worshippers that do not worship the true Godworship Satan; fo the Chaldæan imputeth their force to Satan; for he that is not with him is against him.

The ufe of this point is taught by the Apostle Saint John, Usei Babes keep your felves from idols, give not the glory of God to 1 John 5.]

creatures.

It is an admirable thing in the whole courfe of the ftory of Ifrael, and after of the Tews; Mofes could tell them; for what

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21.

Nation is there fo great? Who hath Godfanigh unto them, as the Deu t. 4.7/ Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for?

.

Yet was idolatry their national finne, although upon all'oc cafions they might advise with God, though they had the pillar of fire, the pillar of cloud, the Arke, the Law, the Priesthood, the Temple, and all the oracles of God committed to them.

Therefore no wonder if the Chaldæan who had none of this did commit idolatry.

Thefe are examples for us; and because we have no feare but of the idolatry of the Church of Rome, we must take warning to keep our felves from their idols and their idolatry..

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